HEBREWS 8:10-12: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” NKJV

OBSERVATION: What is the power of Christmas? What would make shepherds drop everything they were doing and rush to see the child that was born in Bethlehem? What would make the Wise Men travel for days following a star to see the child of promise that was revealed to them in a dream? What would make Herod, threatened by the news of a new King being born, kill all the male children two years of age and under?

It was the Power of Christmas!

When we think of power, we usually focus on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. No doubt, this was the power of God in action. But God, breaking into this life in human flesh, with the promise of a New Covenant, was equally as powerful. We don’t usually equate power with a humble manger scene. Yet, in that moment in time, the power of God was manifested to usher in a new way of dealing with mankind.

It was the Power of Grace!

My wife and I love to visit old antique stores. We usually don’t walk out with any items. It is just something we enjoy doing together. As we walk down the aisles, it is a memory lane of both our childhood and the lives of our parents and grandparents. One such visit, a couple of years ago, was different. As I looked over the assortment of old toys in one booth, my eyes caught a box on the top of the shelf.

What stood before me was something just as glorious as the Red Ryder BB Gun in the movie The Christmas Story. Suddenly, I was 10 years old all over again. There on the top shelf was a box that had never been opened. It was a large box, and the cellophane wrapping of the unopened treasure had turned yellow over the years. When I Googled this great find, I realized that I was looking at a treasure that was over 40 years old.

Imagine a toy any boy would love to have, sitting unopened for 40 years! What was this great treasure? It was a Lionel, O Gauge, Jesse James train set. It came complete with an engine, cars, a barn, small figurines, light posts, a track, and a controller to power the train. I remembered the long trip home I had taken at a young age as I looked at my newly purchased slot-car set. Like this small boy, I could not wait to get home to set up my new train. I wanted to open it in the car, but I waited until I got home.

I carefully removed the cellophane wrapper, and to my amazement, it was confirmed, the train had never been used. I quickly began to set it up on our dining room table to test it out. Having completed the setup up I placed the engine and cars on the track. I plugged in the controller and began to give it some juice. Then, nothing happened. I checked everything I could, but the train would not go. I shared this with my neighbor, and he told me about a large hobby store in Orlando that might help. So I packed up the entire set and headed to the store.

I had the entire train, the track, the controller, and all the things to decorate my new train – BUT I DID NOT HAVE ANY POWER!

This is much like the Old Covenant. The Jews had received the Word of God, the Tabernacle and the orders of sacrifice and worship, the Commandments, and the call to be God’s people.

YET, THEY DID NOT HAVE THE POWER TO FULFILL GOD’S COVENANT.

So, what did God do? He came to this world, clothed in human flesh, to live among us, to live a sinless life, to suffer and die for our sins, and to rise again from the dead. In Christ’s life and the power of His life, we are invited to enter into a New Covenant that does not depend on our strength to obey the covenant. The New Covenant depends on the power of His unchanging life. Jesus fulfilled the Covenant of God and now offers a new heart and a new grace to walk in the power of His New Covenant.

Jesus is the Power of Christmas!

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

What happened to my new Lionel Jesse James Train? The clerk at the store took a great deal of time to take the engine apart, oiling it and making sure all the connections were working. When he placed it on the test track, my little engine finally started to move. Then, when we placed it on my track with my controller, nothing happened. It wasn’t an engine problem. The controller had sat in a box for over 40 years, and much like our old nature, there was no power to move the train (my life) around the track.

Once I had power coming to my track, I could set up my train!

Once I had God’s power, I could walk in the blessings of the New Covenant!

The Christmas story began with a great display of power as the Angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” The Christmas story ended with the power of Jesus rising from the dead and angels proclaiming, “Why do you seek the living among the dead. He is not here. He is risen !” The Power of Christmas and the Empty Tomb continues when the power of God is released into each heart that believes.

II Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” NKJV

What joy a little memory of my childhood has brought me. Now, I set up my train around the Christmas tree each year and love to watch it make its journey around the small oval track. What joy a heart surrendered to Jesus brings the Father. As we allow the love and life of Christ to live in and through us, we bring joy to the Father and begin to walk in the Power of Christmas!

Heavenly Father, give me the power to walk in the fullness of the New Covenant. Grant me the grace to live in the Power of Christmas!

In Jesus’ Name!